Trucking Accidents Across Pennsylvania

In this article, you will learn…

• Some of the most common causes of trucking accidents.
• What some common injuries sustained in trucking accidents are.
• The damages you may be able to recover from your trucking accident.

What Are The Most Common Causes Of Semi-Truck Accidents Across Southern And Central Pennsylvania?

The most common causes of trucking accidents across Southern and Central Pennsylvania are when truckers are…

• Changing lanes
• Not able to stop in time
• Inattentive
• Not attentive to Icy road conditions
• Inexperienced truck drivers
• And more…

What Are The Common Serious Injuries That Result From Truck Accidents In Pennsylvania?

The common serious injuries that result from semi-truck accidents are…

• Broken bones
• Disfigurement
• Head injuries
• Spinal injuries
• Cuts
• Bruises
• Abrasions
• And more…

Who Can Be At Fault For My Serious Injuries In A Trucking Accident Case?

Typically, both the driver and the trucking company will be at fault for the injuries, if our client is not at fault. Both the driver and the company are insured by the trucking company’s general commercial liability policy.

What If I Am Fully Or Partially At Fault In My Trucking Accident?

If you, as our client, are at fault, we have to look at the degree to which you are at fault. The determination of fault comes at the end of the case, but you can get a sense of it as you look at the facts unfolding.

We can ask questions such as: “Was our client speeding? Did their rate of speed contribute to the accident in any way, or was it the negligence of the truck driver that was the primary cause?” These types of questions can help provide an understanding of who was at fault.

What Damages Can I Recover From My Severe Injuries Caused By A Semi-Truck Driver In Pennsylvania?

Some of the damages you may be able to recover from your severe injuries can include:

• Past, present, and future medical expenses for as long as you need treatment
• Past and future lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life’s pleasures
• Loss of consortium
• And more…

You will be able to recover economic damages pertaining to medical expenses and lost wages, but you will also be able to recover for some non-economic damages. In Pennsylvania, your spouse may also recover loss of consortium damages, which means a certain degree of companionship associated with that spousal relationship has been diminished or eliminated.

Is My Spouse Entitled To Compensation For My Trucking Accident In Pennsylvania?

The spouse is entitled to the loss of consortium damages, which is a separate claim. This claim is brought in the same lawsuit as the regular lawsuit but is separate from the damage flow to the injured person.

Are There Additional Damages If The Truck Accident Was Caused By Reckless Behavior?

In Pennsylvania, there may also be an element of damages for reckless conduct. Reckless conduct is when somebody knows there is a likelihood of harm, but they undertake the activity anyway and bring about the harm. A textbook example of reckless conduct would be if a truck driver knows that speeding on an icy road, given the weight of the tractor-trailer truck and the volume of traffic, is likely to cause harm, but they speed anyway.

The damages associated with reckless conduct are punitive damages. Damages that are punitive are not linked to any type of formula. It’s an amount that a jury can select that they believe will be sufficient as punishment for the reckless behavior to the degree that it will deter behavior from occurring in the future.

A classic case of punitive damages was the Ford Pinto case, where Ford created a car with an exploding gas tank. Ford knew that the gas tank had a risk of exploding if impacted from the rear of the vehicle, but they put it out anyway because it was cheaper to deal with the lawsuits associated with it than to have a recall and redesign the existing models.

But accidents did happen, of course. Unfortunately, the tanks exploded, and people died. The jury wanted to impose a punitive amount that would deter companies like Ford from making an economic decision that could lead to harming people.

Punitive damages are specifically for this reason, to punish and deter behavior going forward. This is applicable to trucking companies, as well. If they are engaging in conduct that is considered reckless, you can ask for punitive damages.

What Makes Your Firm Uniquely Qualified To Handle My Trucking Accident In South Central Pennsylvania?

Our firm is located in close proximity to multiple major highways, so we are accessible. We also know the courts. We have experience handling trucking accidents and know how to get the cases resolved in a way that is beneficial to you, our client.

Our firm also has reliable experts in trucking who analyze data from truck and car accidents. This allows them to get in there and figure out exactly what happened from a data perspective leading up to and during the accident. Our experts can retrieve the data from the truck in a prompt fashion before it can be destroyed.

This data from the truck allows them to understand the answers to questions such as:

• Did the truck try to brake?
• Did the driver try to brake before the accident?
• Did the driver swerve?
• What was the truck’s speed at the time of or prior to the collision?
• And other questions…

We have a team of experts, both on the liability side (for analyzing how the accident occurred) and on the medical side (to show how the client has and will suffer). This is invaluable to our clients and the outcome of their claims.

Have You Had A Successful Outcome In A Trucking Accident Case With Very Serious Personal Injuries And Extreme Damages?

There was a truck accident case where our client was a pedestrian in the parking lot of a gas station convenience store that catered to both passenger vehicles and trucks. They have a separate side that sells diesel fuel for trucks.

As our client was walking through the parking lot, he was hit by a truck and killed. It was, unfortunately, a very gruesome death. He was dragged for a period of time and suffered greatly before he was killed.

We brought the suit against the trucking company for being inattentive. They had the truck sitting there idling and they failed to notice the guy walking. They pulled forward and killed him.

We also brought suit against the convenience store chain, because they set up a situation that caused liability. Premise liability is when you go onto the premises of a business that has created a dangerous situation.

They created a dangerous situation by allowing tractor-trailer trucks to park and idle right in the pathway where customers were walking back and forth. Trucks have blind spots and they have idling engines that can get into gear and go without any indication of them even starting up. This creates a hazard and a liability.

We pursued damages from both the truck company and the gas station store. We were able to recover a maximum amount from the trucking company and a fairly sizable recovery from the convenience store as well.

For more information on Trucking Accidents Across PA, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (717) 832-9824 today.